Gulf High School History, Part 2

VARIOUS ARTICLES

New High School Opening (1922)

The following article appeared in the New Port Richey Press on Sept. 14, 1922.

The new High School to serve West Pasco county, including New Port
Richey and Elfers, will be opened on Monday next, September 18, only a
few days behind the other high schools in the county, and on the same
date as the Hillsborough institutions. It may be said that a record
has been achieved in the building of the new school. From the start
every effort has been put forth to have it completed by September, and
the determination has been successful, inasmuch as the school, if not
quite finished, will be ready to receive pupils and commence the
business of the session on Monday next. The teaching staff at the
present time includes Professor McBeath, Mr. Edwin S. Dew and Miss
Runyan. The curriculum will embrace a four-year course, thus bringing
New Port Richey into line with most of the larger towns. With the
patronage we may expect the High School to receive, it will be
ascribed senior high school this year.

In order to avoid any confusion regarding books, pupils are requested
to purchase no books until after organization, Monday. Do not fail to
bring your report cards in order that you may be given your full
credits. Owing to there being no auditorium ready in the school
building, opening exercises will be held in Community Church at 9:30
a.m. Monday.

F. J. McBeath, principal

Opening of the New High School (1922)

The following article appeared in the New Port Richey Press, Sept. 21, 1922.

The opening exercises of the new Gulf High School were held in the
Community Church of New Port Richey last Monday morning. The
building was well filled with parents, pupils and others, all of whom
showed great enthusiasm for our new High School. It was the general
opinion that this was the greatest event in the history of the West
Coast of Pasco County from an educational standpoint, and also for
the further industrial development of this already prosperous
section.

Exercises were opened by the singing of the National Anthem, followed
by Invocation by Rev. C. W. Cotton.

Professor T. J. McBeath, principal of the high school, made a few
remarks, and then called upon Mr. P. L. Pearce, chairman of the local
board of trustees and member elect of the County School Board who
referred to the difficulties encountered in securing the present
standard of education on the West Coast. He explained the status of
our school, emphasizing the fact that the Gulf High School would
offer a full four years course as prescribed by the State Board of
Education, and made an earnest appeal to all good citizens to
co-operate in every way with our new school, and set at naught all
rumors to the effect that we were not qualified to do accredited work
in all grades. In support of the foregoing, he read a letter from
Dr. Murphree, president of the State University, commending the work
of Prof. McBeath, who has been a teacher in Florida schools for
thirty years, and has never had a graduate fail to make good in the
University.

Dr. Elroy M. Avery presented the High School with a beautiful
American flag, the gift of Mrs. Avery and himself. He also spoke
briefly upon the duties of parents and teachers in educating of boys
and girls to be good American citizens.

Speeches were made by Rev. C. B. Drake, Rev. R. C. Alderman, and Mr.
A. R. Nason, touching upon the necessity of education, and pledging
their support to the new school.

Mrs. R. F. Conover, president of the Parent Teachers' Association,
spoke briefly upon the present organization and the proposed plan to
extend it to the High School in the near future, and appealed to all
those interested in schools to become members at once.

Prof. McBeath closed the comments by outlining the plan for the
present school year, and inviting all interested to come frequently
and visit the school. He emphasized the necessity of co-operation and
work upon the part of the teachers, pupils and parents.

The exercises were concluded with a prayer by Rev. Mr. Alderman, and
the teachers immediately took up the work of organizing classes. A
short session was held at the new High School building in the
afternoon, at which organization was completed.

Assignments were made Tuesday morning, and regular class work began
Wednesday.

Thirty-nine pupils were enrolled Tuesday morning, and more are
expected soon.

Graduation of Seniors of Gulf High School (1924)

The following article appeared in the
New Port Richey Press on May 2, 1924.

Graduation exercises of the senior class of Gulf High School marked
the close of the 1924 term of school. The exercises opened with the
baccalaureate services Sunday morning [April 27] at 11 o'clock at the
high school auditorium. Dr. Lyman Mevis delivered a powerful and
inspiring sermon to the graduates and congregation. Special musical
numbers had been arranged for this service and the audience was well
filled with patrons.

Class night on Monday night [April 28] was one of the most
interesting features of graduation week. The class history, will,
grumbler, poem and prophecy were all given in very original style.

Graduation was held Tuesday evening and the address of the evening
was given by Professor Fuguitt of Tarpon Springs. The salutatory
address by Paul Wynn and the valedictory by Roscoe Henderson were
each given in a suitable manner. A number of musical numbers were
rendered and the diplomas and certificates were presented by County
Superintendent E. B. O'Berry.

Graduation Schedule of Events (1924)

Gulf's first graduation took place at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, 1924. There were eleven
graduates. The schedule of events that night was as follows:

Excerpt from Florida Cracker Days in West Pasco County

The following is excerpted from Florida Cracker
Days in West Pasco County, 1830-1982, by Pauline Stevenson
Ash.

There was a lunch stand across the street from Gulf High School and
some of us would save five cents for a hot dog and five cents for a
drink. A group of us would select a day and all go to the stand at
the same time. There would be so many of us, we would just stand
around and laugh because each of us would order a different drink,
and confusion ran high.

If we found someone with a car, a group of us would sometimes pile in
and take our sack lunches to Fred Frierson's Drug Store on Main
Street and order root beer -- always with two straws. Two of us would
share one drink and talk, and I can remember just laughing and
talking loud to get the people in the drug store to notice us. We
always sat four to the table and had two tables with our lunches
spread on them.

One day at school lunch time, we took our sacks down by the river
bank near the bridge. There were six of us. After we ate lunch, one
boy pulled up a small boat tied near the bridge. We all got in and
paddled down the river. In the deep area, the boat nearly turned over
and we all got wet. Only one of us could swim and we all nearly
drowned.

The incident really frightened us, and we never tried that again. Our
principal caught us and punished us by making us stay after school
and study one hour for a whole week.

In those days, mid to late 1920s, most of us had a phonograph at
home, and we took our records to school and exchanged them because
none of us had any money to buy many records.

Probably the most excitement was caused by the advent of a new
student entering school. Then we would gather with our friends, and
check him or her out to see if he were all right for us to associate
with. If not, he did not enter our circle. In those days, most pupils
had good habits and did not have trouble with the law.

When the time came to send graduation announcements, we could send as
many as we could afford. Most of us sent announcements only to close
friends.

I will never forget one I sent to Mr. and Mrs. Gerben De Vries. The
day before graduation, Mr. De Vries came to my home and hand
delivered a graduation card, and I thanked him for it. After he
left, I opened it and found, to my surprise, that they had given me a
$5 gold piece. I was so surprised, and I really felt rich. The $5 was
an incentive for me to save my money to further my education after I
got out of high school. [...]

This high school, built in 1923, was the first high school built and
operated on the West Coast of Pasco County. It was built of brick at
595 Boulevard, and the grounds edged the river. An iron bridge on
which only one car could pass safely was on the river that was at the
entrance of the Gulf High School grounds.

Gulf High School was opened in 1923 and began with grades nine
through twelve. The first year of school the enrollment was so small
there were not enough pupils for accreditation. The school board
then decided the institution should have more pupils to make it an
accredited school.

In 1924 seventh and eight grade students from Aripeka, Hudson,
Elfers, Odessa, Seven Springs and Anclote were transported by bus. At
the time all buses were owned and operated by individuals because
there was no money for school system buses. Thus the enrollment
stayed at 250 pupils all the time until 1930 when more families moved
into this area. Then enrollment swelled.

Gulf High School from the beginning offered a change in many ways
from elementary grades; there was a janitor and a gymnasium for the
sports. Basketball geared up in 1926 followed by baseball. In the
seventh and eighth grades there was a teacher for each class with
rooms, rest rooms, and auditorium downstairs. The ninth through the
twelfth grades were upstairs. There was a class room for each grade.

In 1926 the land boom hit New Port Richey and the high school had a
boom in enrollment. A wing was built on the north end of the school,
which included a library and big studyroom, where students read while
not in class. The downstairs had one room for the kitchen and one
room for eating. There was a cafeteria that was operated by a private
party. One could eat there if he or she had money. ...

Because of Gulf High School's early small enrollment, graduates of
the institution observed annual gatherings without regard to class
year.

The annual banquet of alumni in 1932 was held New Year's Eve at the
Hacienda Hotel, with at least one member of each year represented.

Emil Klepach, president, was toastmaster, and Wilfred Bailey gave the
welcoming address. William Hatton of Odessa gave the response.

Roscoe Baker was elected president, and Mary Lou St. Clair was
appointed secretary-treasurer for 1933.

Since then, with increased graduating classes, reunions have been
based on year of graduation.

After the advent of the car, most of the children in Pasco County
still had no means of transportation to school. To alleviate the
problem, some individuals bought trucks and converted them into buses
to transport children from Odessa, Anclote, Aripeka and Hudson.

One bus started at Aripeka and picked up children, carrying them into
New Port Richey's Gulf High School. Its route included Hudson, Port
Richey and New Port Richey. Later the same bus carried elementary
children to New Port Richey.

The Odessa converted bus carried children along the road from Seven
Springs, Road 54 and stopped at Elfers Elementary School and carried
others on to Gulf High School.

Anclote transported its children in a small bus to Elfers Elementary
and to Gulf High. Individual bus drivers were paid by the Pasco
County School Board.

On August 1, 1936, Pasco County School Board accepted bids for six
school buses, the first ones to be bought by the county. On January
4, 1937, the school board allowed the Pasco children to ride on
school buses to the Florida State Fair in Tampa. The board members
agreed that children from the fourth through the twelfth grades
should be allowed to attend.

High School Students Staged Strike Last Thursday;Board Will Give Decision in April (1956)

This article appeared in the New Port Richey Press on
April 5, 1956.

Students of Gulf High last Thursday staged a strike by refusing to
attend classes.

The dispute came about when three Gulf High teachers were notified
that they would not be recommended for Gulf's teaching staff next
year by Principal John Semago. They were: Al Lagano, coach; James
Clark, music and Philip Capdevielle, science instructor.

Some thirty-five students drove to Dade City to meet with school
board officials and air their protests. Two students, Frank Edwards
and Gary Bolen were appointed by the group to act as spokesmen and
they met with Supt. Mark St. Clair, school trustees I. A. Krusen,
Mrs. Mack Anderton and Edward A. Boyd; also board members C. P.
McCabe, Mrs. Margaretta Witt, Edgar Kirkland, Carl Hatcher and
Charles Touchton, Jr. [Note: The newspaper article has "Mrs. Mack Anderson,"
but a reader of this page believes it should be "Anderton."]

School officials at the meeting expressed displeasure on the action
taken by the students.

Final decision rests with the Board on the reappointment of the three
teachers and principal Semago and the matter will be taken up at
their meeting April 10 in Dade City.

According to information from other sources, about half of Gulf's
student body spent the day in the bleachers of the football stadium,
refusing to attend class.

School Board Awaits
Action of Trustees On Gulf Teacher Firing (1956)

This article appeared in the New Port Richey Press on
April 12, 1956.

The transfer and firing of teachers at Gulf High School was not
agreed with in whole by the School Board at their meeting in Dade
City on Tuesday and a resolution was passed urging the Trustees to
change their recommendation that teacher-coach Al Lagano be dismissed
because of not having a continuing contract.

The action taken by the Board of Trustees stemmed from a student
walk-out two weeks ago in protest to Principal John Semago refusing
to recommend teachers James Clark, Philip Capdevielle and Al Lagano
to the school staff next year. Semago was not recommended for
reappointment as principal next year.

No action will be taken by the Board until the School Trustees can
act on the resolution.

The resolution as presented by Charles Touchton and seconded by Carl
Hatcher is as follows:

"I have noted that the Board of Trustees have in their recommendation
described these teachers and principal as competent and dedicated
teachers, and from my personal investigation in New Port Richey, I
have found this to be true. The Trustees have also stated that the
difficulty in the situation arises from the clash of personalities
and irreconcilable differences. This, my personal investigation bears
out.

"The recommendation of the Board of Trustees is that the principal
and teachers who are entitled to continuing contracts be transferred
within the County system and that Mr. Lagano, who is not entitled to
a continuing contract, not be recommended for re-employment.

Under the circumstances, it does not seem to me that the continuing
contract status should be the decisive factor between transferring or
releasing a teacher; that if Mr. Lagano is a competent and dedicated
teacher as are the others involved, then he is entitled to the same
transfer consideration as are the principal and other teachers,
regardless of contract status.

"Perhaps the guiding consideration of the Board of Trustees in
refusing to recommend Mr. Lagano was the thought that it would be
difficult to find another position for him in the County School
system. However, I am now advised that such a position can be found
readily.

"Therefore in view of these considerations, I move that the Board of
Trustees be respectfully urged to rescind their action in so far as
the same pertains to Mr. Lagano and recommend that he also be
transferred to another position in some other school in the County
School system."

An article in the New Port Richey Press on April 26, 1956,
reported that the school board intended to transfer the three
teachers under continuing contract to other schools "so as to be
separated as much as possible."

Excerpt from West Pasco's Heritage

This article is taken from West Pasco's Heritage. It is
written by Peggy Merkle, with information from H. J. McIntyre

Boys will be boys, you know, and exploring the Cotee River swamps and
the Gulf Coast as far up as Aripeka seemed to be a much better use of
time than sitting in a class room. At least so it seemed to the group
of high school boys in A. H. McIntyre's Industrial Arts Class in the
Gulf High School. It was during World War II and materials for wood
shop were not only highly costly but also very scarce. To combat
these conditions, groups of boys foraged the swamps and forests for
cedar, magnolia and other trees for use in the shop course.

McIntyre and a half dozen boys, taking a half day off from school,
would set out by boat or truck armed with hatchets, a circular saw
and a one inch cable to cut and pull the trees out. These were then
chopped and sawed into logs. Many useful items were fabricated such
as lamps, nut bowls, and wall shelves. These expeditions were so
popular with the boys that very accurate rosters had to be kept to
insure equal time out to all participants.

When McIntyre first came to Gulf High School, he brought with him a
homemade 8" circular saw and later bought a jigsaw and two 8" wood
turning lathes. In addition to these tools he brought an item which
really enhanced the class he taught. It was an 11' kayak. During the
first year the boys built twenty-two of these kayaks, fashioned after
the model brought by their instructor. Two 18' canoes were also built
for use in the Chasco Fiesta. In later years many of these boys went
into the construction trades, and were thus able to utilize their
early training at the school.

School Dedication Saturday Event (1961)

Speeches, Parade And Barbecue Highlighted

This article, which describes the dedication of the
building on Louisiana Avenue which later became Gulf Middle School,
appeared in the New Port Richey Press on Sept. 7, 1961.

Recognition of two important milestones in the history of the Twin
cities occurs Saturday, September 9, when civic, city, school and
county officials join forces in dedicating New Port Richey's new
16-unit Gulf High School building and the fine new lighting system at
St. Clair athletic field.

Starting at 3:00 p.m., the ceremonies will continue until well into
the evening without interruption in a program arranged by local city
officials, working in cooperation with area and county school
officials, county commissioners and local business men.

Hon. Thomas D. Bailey, State Superintendent of Public Instruction for
the past 14 years will be a special guest of the occasion. He will
preside at the high school dedication starting at 3:00 and throw the
switch illuminating St. Clair field at 7:00.

The veteran educator, recognized as one of the country's outstanding
school administrators, started his career in education in 1919 as
principal of a two-room school where he taught all the grades from
five to 11. He later served as principal of high schools in South
Carolina and Florida and is serving his fourth term as state
superintendent.

Mr. and Mrs. Bailey will arrive here from Tallahassee Saturday
morning and remain overnight as guests of the city.

At 4:00 p.m. a parade will form at Orange Lake and proceed south on
The Boulevard to St. Clair field, where the New Port Richey
Quarterback Club will serve a barbecue chicken dinner from 5:00 to
7:00 p.m. All profits of the dinner will be turned over to the high
school athletic fund.

Marching units in the parade will include Gulf, Dade City and
Zephyrhills high school bands; city, county and school dignitaries
and school children, as well as horses and riders and colorful
floats. The Boulevard will be closed to traffic during the parade.

With Mayor C. E. Kohler acting as master of ceremonies, dedication of
the lighting system will take place at 7:00. [...]

When the switch is thrown Saturday night illuminating St. Clair
field, the public will be privileged to witness a display of outdoor
brilliance unsurpassed not only in the entire state of Florida but in
all southeastern United States as well.

Authority for this broad statement comes from officials of both
Florida Power Corp. and Wide-Light Corp. of Dallas, Texas, which
installed and manufactured the equipment, respectively, A total of
105 lamps provide 25 to 30% more lighting than estimated by the
engineers who planned the project. Three ball fields are brilliantly
lighted by greatly improved new-type lamps which the Wide-Light Corp.
only recently began manufacturing. [...]

Record Enrollment Packs New Gulf Junior High (1971)

This article, which appeared in the West Pasco Chronicle on Sept.
8, 1971, describes the opening of the building which now houses Gulf
High School.

The brand new $2.3 million Gulf Junior High School, on Ridge Road in
New Port Richey, opened its doors yesterday, despite the fact that the
newest school in Pasco County is far from completed.

Pasco County School Board, following an extensive ... of the building,
Wednesday approved and accepted the second phase of the building, it
being "substantially completed."

Last week, the new faculty of the Gulf Junior High School ... in and
moved the desks and chairs, the sewing machines and other equipment to
various large, well-lighted and carpeted classrooms and laboratories
from the cartons and boxes.

The paving of Ridge Road, the main road to the school, has been
delayed for many months while county and city officials have attempted
to reach agreements as to who owns what in the matter.

"We're caught in the feud between the city and the county,"
Superintendent of Schools Chester Taylor said this week.

According to Dr. Robert Hartzell, chairman of the Pasco County School
Board, New Port Richey Council will be asked to pave a part of Madison
Road to Ridge Road and in front of the school which is in the city
limits.

The City-Pasco County line cuts in half most of Ridge Road.

No telephone lines have been able to be installed in the new junior
high school because roads are not as yet in.

Furniture for the new, spacious, airy library for the school, as well
as for some scientific furniture for the new school will not be
delivered until December 1.

Indirect lighting, and air conditioning, with green blackboards, and
controls for lights in each class room, spacious carpeted classrooms
and closets, and indoor-outdoor gold and brown carpet are present.
There is a distinct air of spaciousness in each of the classrooms.

From the winding circular ramp which leads from the front area to the
second floor, with its tall columns and globe-shaped lighting, to the
cafeteria with planted areas and gleaming spotless, stainless steel
equipment and the latest in kitchen wares, the new Gulf High School
presents the finest in schools in Florida.

There will be ten cafeteria workers to serve luncheons to the students
each day, who will number 1,300. Foods will be transported to the
Gulf Junior High Annex on the Boulevard for the seventh graders who
will be located there.

Some vinyl-asbestos is utilized on some of the rooms at the school,
and the laboratories and Home Economics rooms are painted in olive
green with black counters.

The offices for the new school are located on the main floor, as well
as the offices for the guidance counselors, with the waiting area
equipped with benches.

"Altogether, there are 48 rooms in the building," Thomas Weightman,
principal of the Gulf Junior High School said. New instructors for
the school have been engaged, and began their duties yesterday for the
all-day sessions.

Besides the members of the Pasco County School Board, the press, and
other interested citizens, and Joseph Evessa, chairman of the
Americanism department of Paradise Post, New Port Richey, made the
tour of inspection, last Wednesday. Carpenters, painters, carpet
workers, electricians have been working night an day to complete the
school in time for the opening.

The consensus of opinion is that it is one of the most complete and up
to date educational buildings in the entire county. Despite the many
details which are still to be worked out - and they will be!

SCHOOL LUNCH. . . PICNIC STYLE -- Students at Gulf Junior High
School take the lack of tables and chairs in stride during their
first day in the new facilities. The $2.3 million building was
given a final approval during a tour by the Pasco County School
Board last Wednesday. Some of the appointments didn't make it
for the opening, including furniture for the school cafeteria.
[New Port Richey Press, Sept. 9, 1971]

Gulf High Now Gulf Comprehensive
High (1971)

This article appeared in the West Pasco Chronicle on Sept. 8, 1971.

The former Gulf High School is now the Gulf Comprehensive High School
officially. Approval was given for the change, in 1970.

The high school will be known now, and have the new title similar to
the Pasco Comprehensive High School in Dade City. The motion to
change the name to the new Gulf Comprehensive High School was
unanimously passed by the school board in January, 1970, on motion
made by Dr. Robert Hartzell of New Port Richey, chairman of the Pasco
School Board,

According to John D. Parrish, the new name may assist in getting funds
for equipping facilities for vocational studies in West Pasco.

The change of name of the high school although almost two years old,
and appearing on the books, had been virtually un-used, until several
new teachers were approved for the local schools, recently.
Superintendent Chester Taylor listed the new name on the list of
teachers.

Woman Named Principal at Gulf (1991)

This article appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on June 22, 1991.

By STEPHEN HEGARTY

Ridgewood High School assistant principal Cheryl Renneckar has
been selected as the next principal at Gulf High School, a promotion
that would make her the first female high school principal in Pasco.

Superintendent Tom Weightman said Friday that he will recommend
that the Pasco School Board promote Renneckar to the top position at
the district's largest school.

"I have a lot of confidence in her," Weightman said. "She's
extremely well organized and competent. She's a good people person,
too, and that's so important for a principal.

"She'll do a bang-up job."

If approved by the School Board, Renneckar would replace Coy
Pigman, who had been principal at Gulf High for five years. Pigman is
scheduled to become principal at the Schwettman Adult Education Center.

Although Renneckar will be the district's first female principal
at the secondary level, she will not be the first woman to reach a top
administrative position. Two of the district's assistant
superintendents are women. Several department directors and supervisors
are women.

The vast majority of the district's elementary school principals
are women. But, until now all the district's middle school and high
school principals have been men.

Renneckar started her education career in 1969 as a physical
education teacher in Illinois. She came to Pasco in 1972 and worked as
a physical education teacher at schools in Zephyrhills. She coached
varsity sports at Saint Leo College from 1973 to 1976. Renneckar
transferred to the Hernando County schools in 1975, working for 10
years as a teacher, dean and assistant principal at Springstead High
School.

Then, in 1985, Renneckar came back to Pasco to take a job as
assistant principal at Ridgewood, a position she has held ever since.
If her promotion is approved, Renneckar will move from an assistant
principal job at the district's second-largest school to the top job at
the largest. Gulf High had more than 1,800 students during the past
school year. Next year, when the new River Ridge High School opens,
some students will transfer out of Gulf. But, Gulf still is expected to
be Pasco's largest school.

Renneckar has a master's degree in physical education and has
completed most of her work toward a doctorate in administration and
supervision.

Renneckar was out of town on vacation and could not be reached for
comment Friday.

School Marks 75 Years in Pasco
(1998)

This
article appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on May 22, 1998.

By KENT FISCHER

When Mittye Locke reminisces about her days at Gulf High School,
she remembers the front sidewalk.

And she should. After all, she built it.

Constructing a sidewalk in front of the original Gulf High -- now
Schwettman Education Center -- was a big project for the nine-member
senior class of 1927.

"It was the smallest class in Gulf High history, but we did some
wonderful things, " Locke said Thursday night at a birthday party for
the school, which turned 75 this school year.

Locke, 89, graduated from Gulf, attended the Florida college for
Women
and went on to become a teacher and principal at Elfers Elementary
School. She spent 50 years and three months teaching in Pasco County.
When she retired in 1979 they named a school after her: Mittye P.
Locke Elementary in Elfers.

On Thursday, Locke and members of her family were the guests of
honor
at the party at the current Gulf High on School Road at Madison
Street.

Locke's son, Mike Olson, graduated from Gulf High in 1962. His
daughter, Kelly Rutherford, is also a Gulf grad (Class of 1987) and
teaches at Mittye P. Locke Elementary.

"I remember when this was an orange grove, and Madison was a
two-lane
dirt road," said Olson, now the Pasco County tax collector. "I played
basketball, but wasn't very good. I played the sax a little better."

The original Gulf High opened on Sept. 18, 1922. It housed 75
students
and eight teachers in sixth through 12th grades, and cost $40,000 to
build. The first seniors -- all 11 of them -- graduated two years
later.

"You know you're old when you forget the second verse of the alma
mater, and have to put your reading glasses on," quipped Olson.

The birthday party was also a chance for some Gulf teachers to
remember growing up in what was then extremely rural Pasco County.
Joseph McCreary went to Elfers Elementary School and had Locke as a
teacher. She was Mrs. Olson back then, and was so strict he was scared
to go over to her house and play with her children. "My friends would
say, "Let's go play with Mike,' and I'd say, "I don't think so, Mrs.
Olson might be there,' " said McCreary, who has been teaching at Gulf
for 27 years. "She was the law in Elfers."

While Gulf High teachers and honor students celebrated Gulf's
birthday
Thursday night with a party and awards banquet, a bigger celebration
is planned. On June 20, the school will host a dinner and dance for
alumni. The day of festivities also will include tours of Schwettman
and Gulf Middle School, both of which have served previously as the
high school.

Former Gulf Student Graduates
With His Grandson (2001)

This article appeared in the Tampa Tribune on May 8, 2001. Baillie
would have graduated from Gulf High School in 1945 if he had not
entered the Navy
in 1944.

RIVERVIEW - This is a story of a senior - and a senior.

A guy named Gene - and a guy named Gene.

Together, 75-year-old Floyd "Gene" Baillie and his 18-year-old
grandson, Gene Medich, will don cap and gown and receive their high
school diplomas as part of the 2001 graduating class of Riverview
High School.

"I can't think of anyone I'd rather have graduate with me," said a
beaming Medich, who towers above his grandfather, a farmer from
Monticello, near the Georgia border.

To understand how it all began, you have to go back to the days of
World War II, when young men felt eager and duty-bound to serve.

Baillie , then a 17-year-old at Gulf High School in New Port
Richey, decided to forgo the pomp and circumstance of his senior year
and instead joined the Navy Seabees, shipping out for Okinawa in
1944.

Then along came life - the service, a wife, a family and a 39-year
stint with the local power company - distancing him further from
those high school days.

"I never did get that diploma," said Baillie, a fourth-generation
Floridian. "But I inquired and found out I had the credits to
graduate."

Under a law passed by the state Legislature last year, World War
II veterans who cut their education short to join up can apply for a
diploma. Baillie and Dora, his wife of almost 50 years, heard about
it while watching CNN.

"World War II just dumped all of us into a big fruit bowl," said
Dora Baillie . "Some left school, some left football, all of them
left their moms and daddies. It brought a whole new world."

Lynn Medich, the Baillies' daughter and Gene Medich's mother, said
she'll have the tissues ready graduation day, which is May 31.

Gene learned how to hunt and fish from his grandfather, and has
spent many summers helping out on the farm.

"He's a good guy," he said of his grandfather. "A nice person who
does stuff for others. Hard working, churchgoing, a good person."

The feelings are mutual.

"I think he's a fine boy," said Baillie of Medich, the youngest of
his five grandchildren. "Like I tell his mother, if they get tired of
him, I'll take him. He's good help and quick to learn."

Baillie doesn't yet know what it will be like to be seated with
more than 450 jubilant teenagers on graduation day, but said those
he's met are "tickled" by his plans.

"They think it's the neatest thing they've ever heard of," he
said.

Lynn Medich expects relatives to converge at the Florida State
Fairgrounds for the ceremony, although only two of Baillie 's 12
brothers and sisters are living.